Menezes officers 'had no photo'

Mr de Menezes was killed the day after the 21 July 2005 failed bombings

Some of the police staking out the home of Jean Charles de Menezes did not have a picture of the real suspect they were looking for, an inquest has heard.

Several surveillance officers watching Mr de Menezes' London flat saw only a poor image of would-be bomber Hussain Osman at a briefing, jurors were told.

Michael Mansfield QC said better images existed but had not been used.

Mr de Menezes, 27, was shot dead in July 2005 by police in London who mistook him for Osman.

Mr Mansfield, who represents the de Menezes family, told the hearing how surveillance officers were shown a passport-style picture of Osman recovered from a gym card found in his unexploded rucksack after the 21 July attempted suicide bombings.

Three other torn-up images of Osman and his wife were also found, he said.

Strategy

Mr de Menezes was killed when he boarded a train at Stockwell Tube station in south London after firearms officers mistook him for Osman the day after Osman and three other men had failed in their bombing attempts.

Mr Mansfield went on to question deputy assistant commissioner John McDowall, who was responsible for developing the strategy to capture the men behind the attempted 21 July attacks.

THE MENEZES KILLING What happened in more detail

"Were you aware that, in fact, some of them were out and about on patrol as it were, as surveillance, without a photograph at all. Do you know that?"

Mr McDowall replied: "No, I was not aware of that."

Mr Mansfield continued: "I mean, that does not help does it, when you know about the difficulties of positive identification, if you do not even have a copy of the photograph with you and you have only seen it back at a briefing?

"That is not exactly best practice, is it?"

Mr McDowall replied: "No, sir, no."

'Omissions'

Mr Mansfield went on to accuse Mr McDowell of a series of failings, including taking strategic decisions "in a vacuum" without considering what could be achieved by firearms and surveillance colleagues.

He also said officers watching the Scotia Road flats had not been told clearly what do do if anyone emerged.

I think, there probably are things that I could have done but for whatever reason at that time I did not think of it John McDowall Met Police deputy assistant commissioner

Mr Mansfield asked: "Has that ever occurred to you that, in fact, there are omissions by you that really, had you followed up - and a large number of things - the whole scenario might have been different?"

Mr McDowall responded: "I do not accept that. I think that, with benefit of hindsight, one does look back at what one has or has not done and, clearly, I think, there probably are things that I could have done but for whatever reason at that time I did not think of it."

But he said there were "certain aspects" that could have been done differently when preparing the manhunt strategy.

'Split-second decision'

Mr McDowall went on to tell the courtroom at the Oval cricket ground that while he hoped it would not happen again, it was "entirely feasible" a similar tragedy could occur "just with the way circumstances unravel themselves".

On Monday - the first day of the 12-week inquest into Mr de Menezes' death - jurors were told firearms officers made a split-second decision to kill him.

The two firearms officers - identified only as Charlie Two and Charlie 12 - will give evidence in public for the first time later in the inquest.

The jury will consider whether or not Mr de Menezes was unlawfully killed.

There have been five inquiries relating to the death and its aftermath, including a criminal trial.

In 2007, an Old Bailey jury found the Metropolitan Police guilty of breaching health and safety laws, after hearing about the events leading up to Mr de Menezes being shot.